Parallel Timelines: A Fated Clash
by ASiriusWriter01
Summary: Fic for Reshiramgirl88's birthday. The world is ruined. Time is stopped, space is distorted, and even the strongest of gods are weakened. There is one god left to fix this all, to start anew. He may not be the one chosen to control time and space, but he will be the the one to fix them, even if it means meddling in the lives of the only humans in the last intact timelines.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Kate, Grovyle, Thief, and Aubrey are original characters created by me and Reshiramgirl88 in our respective explorers of darkness/time stories, so I don't own Pokemon, Kate, or Grovyle. To differentiate between our Grovyles, the one from my universe is Thief(long story), while hers is just Grovyle.

* * *

Third Person Point of View

In a place where neither time nor space exists, where the laws of physics hold no meaning, lives a beast that defies all rules of the universe. This beast is the balance of time and space, the ruler of chaos, and a supposed master of death. He is known by many names. Some have called him a demon, an outsider, even Death himself.

His brothers used to call him Antimatter.

In an era before time, there was once a God, a Creator of the world. His given name was Life, and he sought to shape a world to call his own. He devoted every waking moment to sculpting it, the place he could call home. But this world was too still, and the laws of physics fell apart the moment he concentrated on developing another aspect of his world. Life was God, but he could not upkeep this world on his own.

Stabilizing the world was his first priority, lest it fall apart. From the depths of nothingness, he birthed a new creature of pink and white who would maintain space. With the creation of space came a need for its counterpart, time, to come into being, to move the world into motion. A being of blue and silver was created to suit this need. Life was certain the world was perfect now, for not only was it stable, but he now had a family to share it with.

His youngest however, was troublesome. Time was territorial, possessive, and oh so temperamental. Space found great joy in goading his brother into destructive fights that would destroy parts of their father's world. It was nothing wrong in his eyes, as they both grew stronger and Time was much more bearable when he was worn out from fighting. Life was not amused. These clashes would cause time to stop and space to distort wherever they took place. In short, these fights were destroying the balance and harming much more than just the juvenile masters of time and space. These destructive behaviors needed to end. There was a need for a balance between the two.

Life pulled a new being from antimatter, where neither Time nor Space could rule, during a particular damaging spat. The beast looked at him, red eyes hard behind a golden mask. Sensing the fight immediately, he nods soundlessly at his creator before blending into the shadows, racing to his older siblings.

Antimatter's very presence halted the fighting, his siblings staring at him in wonder. They had thought themselves to be the only beings besides Life, and the arrival of a new creature in the world had shocked them to a standstill. Even more when his gravelly voice filled the air, speaking the first words to ever be said.

"Do not fight any longer."

Whines of protest erupted from Time's mouth, but Antimatter sharply cut him off. "No. Being opposites is no excuse for such meaningless and destructive battles. You may embody time, but you are not time itself, just as I am not antimatter itself, our brother is not space, and father is not life. We are merely the conductors and the enforcers of them. It would do you well to remember that."

This wisdom had humbled them all, even Life. They discarded previous notions of being anything other than servants to what they represent and gave themselves new names as a reminder of what they truly are.

Life chose the name Arceus.

Space became known as Palkia.

Time decided to be called Dialga.

And Antimatter from then on was Giratina.

Millennia passed with little incident in the humbled family, lest they be human caused. Contrary to his time of birth, Giratina acted as an older brother figure to Dialga and Palkia, and nearly an equal to Arceus. With the birth of Mew, more and more pokemon began to inhabiting the world, from the bidoofs in the rivers to the clefairy on the moon. As the world became more heavily populated, the original four created their own havens, monitoring their elements from their isolated bubbles. Arceus remained in the Hall of Origin, his original home. Palkia took refuge the Spacial Rift secluded in the middle of the sea, but still close enough that he could easily emerge and fix any problems should there be a need for it. Giratina, the only one that didn't need to actively contribute to the world, made his home in the Distortion World, where he entertains the souls of the dead while monitoring the parallel world occasionally. Dialga holed himself in the Temporal Tower, which resides in the Hidden Land. Unlike his twin, Dialga's home made it so that he was not readily available to regulate time and perform his duties should the need arise. This was a problem, and both his brothers and creator protested against it. However, Dialga was still incredibly territorial and introverted, and he preferred to live away from the mundane mortals who would only annoy him. He proposed a solution to his solitude in the form of time gears, which would monitor and regulate time in his place as he resided in Temporal Tower. Blessed with his power, they should well be able to do his job, and should one fail, the four others would sustain the world until he could fix the malfunction. Reluctantly, his brothers agreed to this arrangement.

This arrangement failed miserably. The time gears all failed as Temporal Tower, the source of their power, began to crumble. Dialga was too isolated from the world for his brothers to even realize what was happening, let alone help.

As time collapsed, the balance of the world tipped, rendering Arceus weak and unable to move, let alone leave the Hall of Origin.

As the tower crumbled, the entrance to the Spacial Rift disappeared, trapping Palkia in his own realm as it descended into chaos.

As Dialga lost his mind, the Distortion World automatically shut out the mundane world in order to survive, leaving Giratina unable to leave his home, only able to helplessly watch as his brothers and equal were caught in a web of deadly destruction. The years had only made them closer, made their elements weave and intermingle until they were so closely linked together that one always affects the rest. The result is that time's collapse has disabled the being that represent not only time, but life, space, and antimatter as well.

Giratina was brought into this world as a source of balance. It was the core of his very existence, and it's disruption was not only an insult, but a direct attack on him. Needless to say, Giratina's roar of fury when he noticed the destruction of the mundane world shook the very foundation of the Distortion World.

The damage to the mundane world had been so great that several parts of it had taken on a form not unlike what can be found in the distortion world. Gravity didn't have the same hold it should, the world's suspension in time overpowering basic laws of the world. Mystery dungeons were all that was left, not one inch of space was ever the same as when one left it. At the top of it all, ruling over the entire world was a corrupted Dialga, driven mad by the fall of his element.

Giratina was disgusted, and set about to work quickly. However, there was little he could feasibly do. The Distortion World has shut out the mundane world, meaning that while souls could come in -and they came in droves- Giratina himself could not leave. He also could not send the souls of the dead back to the world as they no longer had living bodies to return to.

The king of the Distortion World would not let himself be restricted in such a way. He was the voice of antimatter, the absence of time and space. He could touch the very foundations of time and space, and while the lesser would go mad, he would remain unaffected. Giratina will do the unthinkable. He will meddle with what is left of time and space. The beast of antimatter will be the master of the elements that his brothers can no longer control.

Time and space are incredibly fragile with the collapse of Temporal Tower. Once continuous, straight courses of time are now fragmented and twisted, various timelines crashing into each other and destroying themselves, never to reform. Ripping and stitching holes in space to travel between timelines is nigh impossible, as the very fabric of space has been tattered already. It seemed impossible to work with either medium. However, Giratina does not care to know the meaning of impossible. Sifting through countless fragments of time, he finds two somewhat stable timelines that aren't completely broken even though invariably twisted. One look shows why. They are parallel timelines, timelines that are similar with several key differences. They both have the same start and end, but everything in the middle is different. In those timelines, Celebi may have died as Dialga turned primal, but she left behind her hope for the world, a small little green egg, holding her legacy. The hatched Celebi must have been trying to work the miracles her mother was renowned for. She surely must have made some impressive leaps, for in those timelines are humans! Humans, of all things. They had died out centuries ago, and all that are left of them are horror stories and tall tales.

These timelines are the only ones that can possibly be used to summon people into the Distortion World to send them back to the original timeline. They aren't too fragmented, and Giratina can just barely manage to tear a small hole in space to create a portal. Now all that's left to choose are the ones to speak to...surely the humans Celebi brought from the past are worth Giratina's time, but humans alone aren't very powerful. It's their wits and bonds that made them so dominant all those years ago, not their strength. They're going to need partners. Perhaps the new celebis themselves would have been a possible choice had they been more familiar with the intricacies and consequences of meddling with time. They aren't old enough to even know of the legendaries they are related to, let alone the extent of their powers. One of the girls has a pokemon partner whose bond with her is close enough to be that of a brother, but his state of mind is deplorable, especially with a mission such as this one. That leaves one option each, their partner. Ironically, they're both grovyles. Some things just stay the same no matter what in parallel timelines...

With the choosing of just who to contact, Giratina has little else to do until either of the girls walk by a reflective surface where he can communicate. One of the girls, Kate, is much closer to it than the other girl. The other girl, Aubrey, is currently in the middle of the woods, at least a day's walk from any lake nearby. All that is left to do is conserve his energy, as bending elements that don't belong to him will truly be a taxing task.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, the first girl Giratina had managed to make contact with was Aubrey. The forest that the somewhat tall brunette was currently trekking through with her partner Thief was riddled with little puddles from a rainstorm that happened just before time's great freeze. All Giratina needed was one puddle and for her to stay in one place long enough to talk to her.

This opportunity presented itself when Thief stopped and told Aubrey to sit down while he scavenged for some food. Aubrey, physically exhausted and emotionally spent, did not protest at all. Rather she flopped to the ground as her dark brown eyes lazily wandered to a puddle, her mind wandering to both her brother Lucas's betrayal and her own. Her brother's betrayal came from him trying to turn in Thief to Dusknoir in exchange for a marginally safer life for her and him. Luca made a deal with the devil, a devil who has hunted them down for most of her life and haunted her nightmares for as long as she could remember. On the other hand, Aubrey has her own betrayals to account for. She chose Thief over Luca, choosing to save the life of a pokemon over living a life with the last of her family. She and Thief have a rocky relationship undoubtedly, with him infuriating her to no end and her irritating him beyond words, but she would never want him dead. Aubrey did hurt Luca though. That is something that she doesn't doubt in the least, and the thought made her physically ill. Fretting endlessly over a choice that was already made the moment she ran away with Thief, she didn't notice the slight shimmer of the puddle in front of her nor the golden mask and blood red eyes that stared at her curiously.

She did notice, however, when he rumbled, "You're Aubrey, correct?"

Eyes wide and heart thumping, Aubrey snapped out of her thoughts as her eyes met those of what she could only believe is Death himself, her mouth forming the beginnings of a scream.

"No need to be scared, human," Giratina chuckles. "Although that does seem to be the expression most of your kind prefers when meeting me for the first time."

Those eyes, that mask. Memories from long, long ago filter through her frightened mind, memories of a story her mother often told her. A story of Death taking people through their reflections and dragging them to his domain. It's hopeless to resist, for Death always wins in those stories. Regardless, a terrified scream escapes her lips.

Giratina sighs, as if this has happened over a million times. It most likely has. "That is a common reaction as well."

Aubrey scrambles to her feet, despite knowing from the stories the futility of it all. Just as she's about to make a break for it, Giratina's chilling voice commands, "Halt."

Aubrey freezes in place, feeling as though she has been hit by an ice beam. She slowly, reluctantly turns her head back to the puddle. She's met by an approving nod.

"Good. Now, fear not, human. I'm not here for your soul. I am here to speak with you and your partner," He states simply.

As if on cue, Thief bursts through the undergrowth, leaf blades glowing and a snarl on his face. In that moment, yellow eyes narrowed to nearly slits, teeth bared, the small amount of light streaming through the trees highlighting the scars the riddle his body, particularly the long one running down his leaf, and his stance tense and ready to pounce, Thief looked absolutely feral. A small bit of relief wiggled its way into Aubrey's mind despite the terror flooding her body. Despite their differences, she truly trusts him, a trust that she knows isn't misplaced when he comes to her rescue at the first moment of trouble. His eyes seek out Aubrey's terrified and overwhelmed ones as he realizes that there is no one there except the two of them. His eyes skim over Giratina, not registering his presence.

"Why did you scream?" Thief demands as his leaf blades power down. "I had to rush over here!"

Aubrey merely points a trembling hand to the puddle that serves as a connection point between their world and Giratina's, and Thief's eyes finally meet the embodiment of antimatter's. His eyes narrow as his leaf blades glow and hum lightly with energy. He, like any pokemon recognizes The Lord of the Distortion World on sight, instinctively knowing his role as Death. He protectively crouches in front of Aubrey, waiting for what he sees as an inevitable fight.

Giratina is pleased at the gecko's arrival and even more so at the fact that he is so protective of the Aubrey. Humans are so fragile, especially in such dark times like these. While the pokemon's protectiveness over the girl is impressive, however, Giratina doesn't find much to be amazed at by the girl. She must be extraordinary in some form to be specifically taken by Celebi into the far future, but there is little that shows her to be more than average. That is, until he hears her whispers to the gecko in front of her.

"-is a legendary Pokemon said to be able to quell even Dialga! You can't seriously think you can handle him head on alone! I didn't save you just so that you could kill yourself, pokemon! He came for me, so just let him have me!" Aubrey whispers furiously into the Thief's ear, hoping to at least have him live and be able to go back to Celebi and his mother.

"You are insane!" Grovyle growls. "Pick a better plan!"

"And you're stubborn, so we're even! If you wanna risk your neck too instead of just mine, then fine! We need to get away from reflective surfaces so that he can't contact us. Run somewhere dry; like the desert west of here."

What Giratina hears is that she's human with a bit of a hero complex but can be logical as well. While a knack for heroism is not necessarily rare among the species, it is certainly a worthwhile quality and a bit necessary for what Giratina has in mind. No, the girl is not exceptionally strong or smart, but being reasonable, logical, and just a little bit selfless is all Giratina needs. She can be a hero in the right conditions.

"I've seen enough," Giratina rumbles lowly. "And what I see is promising. I will seek you out again."

The two hold their breath as the basilisk disappears from view, not quite believing what just happened. All is silent once he is finally gone, and Aubrey and Thief stare at each other in disbelief.

The silence is disrupted by Thief snarling, "What the HELL did you do to get the attention of Death! Is everyone after you now?"

The two fall back into their easy and familiar pattern of bickering as they set off towards the Northern Desert, which neither would admit is comforting after a visit from the embodiment of death.

* * *

The other girl, Kate, was much more difficult to get a hold of. The girl was constantly bustling about, and unlike her counterpart, she only took short breaks when Grovyle absolutely needed it, which was not often. Thankfully, even though his brother's blood runs through her veins, Kate is still half human. She herself would eventually need a break.

That break came after a particularly tiring day of attempting to tame her powers. After washing up in a lake and redressing, Kate spent some time there just resting and restoring her energy. It seemed to her that every break through she makes comes at the expense of using more energy and basically bleeding herself dry. More control over fire? Expect to sleep an unhealthy amount of time. New lead? She and Grovyle have to get there immediately before Primal Dialga destroys any evidence of it. She almost longed for the days she lived at the ruins of Temporal Tower for it was a far less tormenting existence. She shook her head to clear her head of those types of thoughts, thoughts that she had started to have more often. Yes, her life as daddy's little princess was easier than most, but at what a cost it came. She is sure that she saved as many lives outside the castle than she had seen murdered by her own father in it. Well, she'd like to think she saved their lives, but living in this hell of a world isn't necessarily being saved...and they're going to cease to exist anyway when she goes back in time. It was just a necessary side effect of ensuring that time had never stopped in the first place. Kate didn't necessarily like it, but sacrifices have to be made. In the end, the world would be better for it. Hopefully, Arceus will forgive her, Grovyle, and Celebi...they just have so little to lose while the world has everything to gain.

Red eyes peered from the lake's glassy surface at the girl who may as well have been Aubrey's twin, were it not for her eyes. Red eyes muddled with dark brown belied her mixed heritage if anyone so wished as to look closely at the girl. It was a wonder her head wasn't mounted on a stake for it. However, the girl seemed to faire well at defending herself if her latest practice session was any indicator of her prowess. She had skill to spare in the martial arts without a doubt. The powers given to her by heritage...not so much. She tired easily and didn't seem to be able to control herself. Giratina inwardly lamented at that; such a skill would be so useful in the job he was hoping she would qualify for. So far, however, she seemed to have the makings for said task. She was hard working, a decent fighter, set in her beliefs, willing to make sacrifices, and most importantly, determined beyond belief. Aubrey may not even be needed if he could simply take Kate.

Giratina is roused from his thoughts by the girl drawing up and glaring at him.

"Who are you?" she hissed. "Leave now if you know what's good for you!"

Giratina mentally sighs at this behavior. How hardheaded and cocky of her to think she could simply threaten him away.

"Didn't you hear me the first time? Scram!"

Perhaps she is not the perfect hero after all. What a shame. She may have many ideal characteristics of one, but she will certainly get herself killed should she go on unchecked. She is an impressive fighter, not infallible.

Kate, growing increasingly impatient with the basilisk, summoned a small ball of fire in her hand and took aim at him. Giratina looked on in disinterest, already knowing that it can't reach him. He opened up a gateway of communication, not a portal.

As the fire fizzled out harmlessly, Giratina took a moment to enjoy her utterly astonished face that immediately turned into panic as she launched a frenzied attack of fireballs at him. With each one thrown, she tired out more and more, eventually reaching the point where she slumped forward and collapsed on her knees.

"What..." she gasped, "are...you?"

"A friend," Giratina deadpanned. "That's all you need to know."

"Kate!" a voice called out.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Kate mumbled slightly to herself, not expecting an answer.

Giratina's answer was prompt. "You don't. But nothing is this world is ever certain."

A glare. "Not good enough."

"Kate!" The voice now carried a hint of fear.

"You're not in much of a position to say such things."

"I will say them anyway."

Giratina merely grunted in response. Both girls had faults, but what one didn't have, the other seemed to make up for. Kate's power counteracted Aubrey's average fighting skills and dependency on others. Aubrey's logical way of thinking things through nicely complimented Kate being a hothead. It must be a side effect of being in parallel timelines. Giratina certainly wouldn't complain, however. Together, they could fix the original timeline. That much he could tell.

"Very promising," he murmured.

"What did you just say?" Kate demanded, not quite losing her spirit despite her lack of energy.

Any reply from Giratina was cut off by a green blur bursting onto the scene and immediately racing to the kneeling girl. This must be Grovyle, Kate's partner, and Thief's counterpart. As Giratina takes a moment to study him, he couldn't help but be mildly pleased. It seems that much like Kate and Aubrey, Thief and Grovyle are opposites as well. While both have a similar build and seem just as battle-hardened as the other, Grovyle shows markedly less scars, most prominent though is the lack of a scar running down his leaf. This is a sure sign of him being much more careful in battle than his counterpart, which can only do good in the long run.

"Kate! What happened to you?"

"No weakness..." she groaned. "We have company."

"Company..." Grovyle trailed off, his eyes landing on an image in the water. He sucked in a breath through his teeth. "It can't be..."

"She became rather alarmed by my presence and attacked me," Giratina supplied dryly. "It seemed to have drained her energy quite quickly."

Grovyle stands still, shocked. He recognized Giratina as Death on sight, much like Thief had, but there had been absolutely no sightings of him since before time collapsed. There were even rumors that said he could not leave the underworld. Why appear now, in front of them?

As much as Grovyle wanted to stand there and demand answers from the ancient being, he had to think of Kate first. Kate who, despite the mask of bravado she put on, is terrified out of her mind right now. After being so close to her for what was probably years, he could see straight through her hard eyes and stiff upper lip. He needed to get her out of here. Immediately, he scooped Kate up into his arms and was about to run when-

"It seems I've seen all I've need to. Very well. I will contact you in the future."

The duo watched apprehensively as the basilisk disappeared from view before looking at each other.

"We-"

"Need to pack up camp and leave?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I got you."

No others words needed, Grovyle carried his exhausted partner over to their camp where he packed up their things, going a little slower when he realized she had fallen asleep. He knows she needs the extra sleep, so it doesn't hurt to pack a little slower and procrastinate just a tad so that he doesn't have to wake her up so soon.

* * *

Four heroes, two human and two pokemon. Is this really what it had come to?

With Giratina at his wits end, it seems that this is indeed what it has come to. This is his final hand, and he has to play it.

* * *

Happy late birthday, Reshiram! Hopefully I finish up the rest of this by Christmas so that you actually have your present on time for once:p. I hope you liked part one though. *whispers* Thief, Aubrey, Kate, Grovyle!

Kate: Happy birthday, author lady!

Grovyle: *smiles* Happy birthday, Reshiram.

Aubrey: Happy birthday!

Thief:...*mumbles* happy birthday...


	2. Chapter 2

Giratina sighs as he meditates in the center of the Distortion World. The time to pull the humans from their dimensions was near, and he needed to be at maximum capacity for it. There was no telling what could go wrong. Dialga is the reigning ruler of what is left of the opposite dimension, which means he is a formidable enemy. Who is to say that the Dialga from either timeline won't notice the disturbance and try to stop him, or worse yet, both notice? Giratina only has a small timeframe to safely pull the humans and pokemon into the Distortion World, and he has to do it soon, before the timelines collide.

Giratina's eyes snap open. There was no more putting it off; it is now or never. His eyes fall to the Griseous orb set in a small platform in front of him. It was a gift from Arceus, given to him not too long after his birth. Unlike those orbs Kyogre and Groudon use to transform into their primal forms, the ones that had been sealed away by Arceus himself only to be used in cases of emergency, the Griseous orb does not break a seal on his power. It instead draws on the power of the Distortion World itself in order to aid its master. He only called upon it in emergencies that cannot be fixed by his own power alone. This is one such time. In a situation as dire as the one the world finds itself in, the Griseous orb is Giratina's only hope to gather the power he needs. Meddling with space and time, while possible for him, is exhausting and difficult under normal circumstances. With the reign of Primal Dialga, he knows his designs will not work with only his own power.

Reverently, Giratina picks up the orb. In that moment, he feels every inch of the Distortion World as if it was his own body. Every soul, every structure, became a part of him. Giratina breathes deeply. This is his world, his kingdom, lending him the strength that he needs. The power coursing through his body enveloped him, thrumming to the beat of his heart and pulsing in his blood. It has been so long since he felt this strong, this capable. With the fall of Temporal Tower, he has been feeling weak and powerless. Now, with the might of his kingdom behind him, Giratina felt more powerful than even Arceus himself.

Tracking down the two pairs of partners is incredibly simple for Giratina in this state. Knowing that Aubrey was headed to the desert areas, he decides he should collect her first. And she just happens to be refilling their water at a small pond. Too easy.

* * *

Aubrey tries to work quickly at the lake. According to those old stories her mom and Luca used to tell her, Giratina can use any mirrored surface to appear. This was a pretty damn big mirrored surface, if she does say so herself.

"Why did you make us stop here?" Thief growls as he paces nervously. "Are you asking to get us killed?"

"I'm sorry, did you want to go to the desert and die of thirst?" Aubrey retorts.

Thief growls but doesn't argue further. He felt on edge, like something was going to happen soon, and whenever he got this feeling, something bad happened. And apparently, a lot goes wrong around this human. He wished he could be more upset at her, but as annoying as she is, he knows she means well. As much as he hates to admit it, this time, she's right. Without water in the desert, it'd be too easy for Dusknoir to catch up to and finally kill the two of them. Not without questioning and torture though. He feels his heart drop to his stomach. While he has a high pain threshold, he doubts that Aubrey does. He grimaces at the thought of Aubrey suffering at the hands of the sableye. Thief practically bashes his head against a nearby tree. As annoying and rude as she is, apparently somewhere along this disastrous trip, he had started thinking of her as a friend. Those are rare in a world like this, and that is for a good reason. Death creeps about in every shadow, in every whisper. The only friend he has that has survived this long is Celebi, and she is supposedly a "lesser legendary" as his mother calls it. Now he's gone and gotten attached to a human of all things, the most fragile creature he can think of! He groans inwardly. He has his work cut out for him if he wants to keep this friend alive.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thief sees a small ripple in the water. A water type, maybe? Then, two haunting, familiar red eyes behind a gold mask appeared right in front of Aubrey. Aubrey is so focused on collecting water though; she doesn't even notice.

Heart racing, Thief sprints over to Aubrey and pushes her out of harm's way. "Watch out!"

Aubrey hits the floor with a thud. "Huh? What's happening!"

She sits up in time to see one of Giratina's long, black tentacles reach out from the lake and wrap around Thief. A wordless shriek tore out from her throat. Thief can't die here! Not like this, not after surviving what they have so far! She betrayed her only family to keep him alive, and she'll be damned before letting Thief die so easily! Propelled to her feet by her feet, she lunged at Thief, grabbed him by his waist, and pulled desperately against Giratina's hold. An amused chuckle came from the direction of the lord of death.

"Idiot!" Thief hisses, trying to mask his surprise. "Forget about me; run!"

"If you haven't forgotten, we're a team here. If I didn't leave you to be sableye chow or whatever Dusknoir would do to you, why would I leave you here?" Aubrey growls through grit teeth as she felt the both of them starting to be dragged.

"Humans are so stupid," Thief groans as he tried to wriggle free, his voice not holding any of the venom Aubrey was becoming used to. In any other situation, she'd laugh and maybe tease him a bit.

Instead, she finds herself working that much harder to free him as she mutters, "And pokemon are too headstrong. Wait, that's just you."

Giratina barely even tries to pull them, watching their exchange in amusement. The situation for them is impossible, yet here they are struggling as if they have a chance. On top of that, they are bickering. The basilisk pokemon can't help but marvel at the two and their relationship in that moment. Both have an unwavering bond of trust and loyalty, something that is difficult to develop in this world, yet they have only ever argued. They were an odd partnership, yet it seems to work for the both of them.

Giratina was torn from his musings by a thunderous roar. A roar very familiar to the one he had heard when he was just born. His eyes shift to meet crazed red ones glaring down at him from the sky. So it seems his older brother has joined the party. That is Giratina's sign that he's spent too much time meddling in this timeline. It is time to retreat with his prizes. With a warning roar of his own, he dragged Aubrey and Thief into the portal and closed the link between their two worlds.

The two tumble head first into the Distortion World and land in a heap in front of Giratina. Aubrey, pale and shaking, clings to Thief as tears pour down her face. That was the first time in her entire life that she had seen Dialga, and her entire will to fight had vanished. She's a human! How could she possibly have thought that she had a ghost of a chance defying him? He could crush her with his foot! She's too weak to do this, what was she thinking? She gave up the only thing she ever wanted for this fight, this useless fight! And now, she's been taken by the lord of death. Was…she completely wrong in believing in her fight, in her mother's fight?

Meanwhile, Thief was having his own inner turmoil. Primal Dialga completely dwarfs him in every way. He always knew to expect a colossal being, but he never thought of the power emanating from the giant. He can't believe that he froze. The amount of power that Thief could feel come off of Dialga in waves paralyzed him with fear. He hates to admit it, but if it had just been him and Aubrey, he would have been useless. They would both die. He can't freeze like that if he ever comes in contact with Dialga again, he needs to fight. If he ever comes in contact…he can't forget that he's currently Death's captive. A glance to the girl shaking and crying told him he needed to shape up. He isn't going to let down the partner that refused to leave him to die. Thief shakes himself off and takes a defensive position…

…only to find Giratina's attention is no longer on him and Aubrey, but a new portal.

It seems like there are more captives on their way.

* * *

Grovyle darts through the forest, trying carefully not to jostle the overheated girl in his arms.

"Grovyle," she murmurs exhaustedly, "not…worth the risk…"

"We need to do this, Kate. You overdid your fire training, and now you are completely burning up. We'll be in and out, don't worry," Grovyle placates her, trying to hide a grimace as he irritates his own burn that Kate accidentally gave him.

Kate groans her protest, but she's in no position to stop him from taking her to a lake. Several miles later, Grovyle arrives at the lake they had been at the other day and gently sets Kate in the water. Her previously tense form relaxes as the water cools her down, and a contented sigh escapes her lips. After a few seconds of relaxing in the water though, she squirms, trying to sit up.

"Okay, we've spent enough time…" she trails off as she sees Grovyle treating his burn. She frowns, feeling guilt bubble up in her chest. "Never mind, I think I need to cool off a little more." She sinks down into the water with a mumbled "sorry".

Grovyle grimaces. He hadn't meant for her to see the burn because he knew she would feel bad. It wasn't even a bad burn, just irritating. Still at least she was staying put. Grovyle knows Kate well; they'd been partners for ages. He doesn't need to be told that Kate would skip healing just to get on the move again. She's probably not feeling that much better yet, but she refuses to be stagnant no matter how injured she is. He sighs and shakes his head. She's a handful, but she is his partner who he wouldn't trade in for anyone else in the world.

All of a sudden, Grovyle notices ripples in the lake. The problem is, he knows there are no water pokemon living in this lake because they had scoped it out when they were there the other day. He turns to Kate, who noticed them too. Her eyes are wide, and she mouths that they need to get out of the water now. They creep out of the water as quickly as possible, just in time for a black tentacle to ensnare Kate's ankle.

She glances back in surprise, only to find that familiar golden mask staring back at her. Only this time, she realizes, he looks a lot stronger. She frantically starts firing fire balls at the limb hold onto her, but it just slowly starts dragging her back into the lake. She shrieks wordlessly as she hammers away her binding. Grovyle, who turned at her shriek, watches in horror as he sees his best friend being taken away by Death himself. His leaf blades hum with power as he joins Kate in trying to free her. Neither of their attacks seem to be working though. And as the clouds darken and a ferocious roar echoes through the area, the two redouble their efforts. Kate's father has arrived, and neither Kate nor Grovyle want to greet him.

"YOU DARE MEDDLE IN MY AFFAIRS, BROTHER!" Primal Dialga roars. "I WON'T HAVE THAT! RELEASE MY DAUGHTER, AND GO BACK TO THE UNDERWORLD FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!"

Suddenly, without warning, the same limb holding onto Kate latched onto Grovyle as well, and the two of them were pulled into the lake. The last they say, Primal Dialga was preparing to use Roar of Time. They never saw the completion of the move, however, as the portal closed directly behind them. They were carefully set on the floor, where the two of them could straighten their thoughts.

"What…the distortion world just happened?" Kate whispers incredulously.

"I have no idea," Grovyle murmurs before snapping out his shock to look his partner over. "But first things first, are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Kate replies absentmindedly, as she surveys their surroundings.

Now that the shock has started to wear off, Kate notices that something about where they are doesn't quite seem right. She just can't put her finger on it. She motions for Grovyle to stop looking her over for injuries and look around. Awareness lights up his eyes as he realizes her current dilemma. He glances over the room, knowing the answer even without looking. It was something he could feel resonate deep within him, something that his instincts told him immediately.

"Kate," he whispers cautiously, "we're in the land of the dead."

Kate whips around to face him, her eyes suddenly a much brighter red. Grovyle inwardly cringes. She is mad, and she's ready to fight now. Grovyle is the first to admit Kate is dangerous, but sometimes he forgets how scary she can be. He puts a comforting hand on her shoulder to try to calm her a bit, but she shakes it off roughly and instead turns to the basilisk watching them.

"YOU!" she growls! Before she knows what she's doing, her fist is engulfed in flames, and she's lunging at Giratina.

That is, until something slams into her side, stopping her momentum and throwing her to the ground. She growls viciously and turns to what interrupted her attack, but she's quickly shushed by her attacker.

"Don't be stupid!" her attacker's voice chastises. "That is not a fight you can win on your own. He captured my me and my partner too, so maybe all four of us can work our way out of here instead of you impulsively throwing your life away!"

Kate fully turns to the chastising voice only to stop cold. Her attacker looks back at her with wide eyes.

After a few moments, Kate lets flames engulf her hands once more as she glares untrustingly at Aubrey. "Who are you, and why do you look like me!"

* * *

Sirius: *yawns* This took…all night to finish.

Aubrey: Sirius, you don't look too good…*guides me to the couch*

Sirius: I'm…fine…*falls asleep as soon as I hit the couch*

Thief: At least we don't have to listen to her talk now.

Kate: *slaps Thief upside the head* Dude.

Grovyle: Be nice to your author.

Aubrey: *sighs* I guess I'll take her place. She gave me her notes just in case…here they are! *clears throat* Reshiram, here is your next chapter that you wanted so much, so you don't need to keep asking to peek at what I have written. You're lucky that you are my best friend because if anyone else had pestered me to update, I wouldn't have done it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though it doesn't really measure up to the first.

Kate and Grovyle: And just to be clear, Sirius doesn't own pokemon or either of us. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, and we belong to Reshiramgirl88!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Here, Reshiram, your chapter. Not sure how good it is since I'm exhausted, but I tried my best to put this all together by tonight. I hope you like it!

* * *

"Who are you, and why do you look like me?" Kate demanded, her voice dropping to a low growl.

Is someone trying to pass off as Dialga's daughter? There is a lot of power in that title, and she won't let anyone abuse it! She spent her entire life struggling with being his daughter and all the harm she's caused by merely existing. She finally is using her life for something worthwhile, for something to make the world a better place, and she is not going to let someone mess up all her hard work by pretending to take her place!

Aubrey immediately backed away from Kate, eyes widening. What does she mean? Her hand came up to her own face instinctively, as if the act alone would determine how alike they looked. Aubrey admittedly didn't really know what she looks like; living on the run doesn't yield too many opportunities to really look at your reflection and study it. The only thing she could really know was her hair, and that's only because it gets long when she doesn't have anything to cut it with. She had cut it recently though when she found an iron spike... Aubrey absently toyed with her hastily hacked hair. It was definitely the same color as Kate's, maybe a few shades darker, but that's the only similarity Aubrey could see. Maybe they both have some of the same facial features, but Aubrey wouldn't really know. Aubrey does know her hair though. She's cut it, picked leaves from it, and had it nearly torn from her head. She'd never really thought of it much before, but her hair was...unkempt. At least compared to Kate's. Kate's dark brown hair was cut a lot shorter than Aubrey's, almost as short as her chin, but it looked deliberate and even. Unlike Aubrey's own choppy, slanted locks. Aubrey pressed her lips together. What type of life does she have to be so...well-kept? Aubrey barely had the time to wash her face on a good day. She was always moving, never in the same place longer than a day. Survive first, everything else second. Bitterness crept up on Aubrey the longer she thought on that. What a good life, being able to care about something other than running and eating. Not that she would know about any of that; she's never had the opportunity to know.

Wait, she has more important things to talk about...

Aubrey tore her thoughts from her jealousy, studying Kate's face more closely. A face that would be considered rather beautiful if not for the bared teeth and glare. What really stuck out were her eyes. They were brown, yes, but there was an eerie red tint to them. As she stared into Kate's eyes, she felt paralyzed. It was a similar sensation to when she had first seen Giratina. Raw fear kept her in place. Aubrey blinked rapidly,

* * *

hoping that a lack of eye contact would release her from whatever effect those eyes were having on her. When Aubrey caught sight of Kate between blinks however, she caught sight of something even more disquieting. Lines. On her face, on her arms, on her legs. All in the pattern of a time gear.

This girl isn't even human.

"I'm nothing like you," Aubrey whispered shakily, the words flying out of her mouth without her permission.

It was Kate's turn to be shocked. Who did this girl think she was? Talking to her like that... No one has ever been so rude to her before...except for her own father. Now determined to give this little weakling what for, she lunged at her.

...only to hit the floor. Hard. She didn't even manage to touch Aubrey, and as she glanced back, she saw why. A grovyle had saved her and was now standing in front of her protectively. But...it wasn't her Grovyle. At a glance, she might've mistaken the two, but the most distinctive difference was the lack of burn scars on this one. Kate's eyes narrowed. A girl that looks like her and a grovyle? What kind of game are they playing here? Immediately, she stood up, glancing between the two imposters suspiciously.

Just then, Grovyle came up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder in a silent warning. "Kate," he said lowly. "Think about this. They don't look like they're trying to be us. Look at the girl. Does she look like she's trying to pretend that she's the princess of the frozen world? And they aren't even trying to act like either of us."

Kate had to admit that even though she had noticed all of this herself, hearing it from Grovyle was what truly calmed her. He was always the voice of reason out of the two of them, and he would never steer her wrong. He's the only one she could trust. Hesitantly, she relaxed, squeezing Grovyle's hand reassuringly before gently pushing it off her shoulder.

"So," she reiterates, this time feeling Grovyle's presence calming her, "who are you?"

"The name is Grovyle," Thief answers before Aubrey could. "I'm better known as The Thief, or Thief. And this is my pet human, Aubrey. She responds to human though."

Aubrey immediately scoffs, "Like I would ever be your pet! I have more dignity than that!"

Thief narrows his eyes. So much for making himself seem powerful. "I give you food, take you on walks, and take care of you. Sounds like a pet to me."

Aubrey hissed, indignant. Thief stared at her, unamused. After a momentary stare down, they silently came to an understanding to settle this later, and they simultaneously turned back to Kate and Grovyle. It was uncanny, how they did that. Still, that entire exchange was so strange...

"You just talk to a human like that?" Kate asked disgustedly. "And she lets you?"

Thief rolls his eyes and scoffs, seeing the opportunity to be seem more powerful in his opponents' eyes. "Well, she's just a human. Not much of a threat if you ask me."

Kate blinks. All the humans she knows are rather powerful. Her, Zen, Geo...very few pokemon pose an actual threat to them. She ran an appraising eye over Thief. He certainly did look very strong, but enough to subdue one of them? She'd have never guessed. Perhaps the right move is alliance, not kill...or kill right now before he attacks.

"Not much of a threat, huh?" she sneers. "Are you sure?"

Thief shrugs, putting on an air of indifference, and Kate attempts to pin him down with a glare. A silence settles over the group for a few moments, the tension thick enough to reach out and grab.

Then, a chuckle resonated throughout the chamber. "Well," Giratina said bemusedly, "as amusing as the theatrics are, I'd prefer all my heroes alive."

All heads swiveled to face the basilisk everyone had forgotten was in the room.

* * *

Thief: *yawns* Man, this story is taking forever to pick up speed.

Aubrey: Give our author a break, she's trying her best!

Kate: It's not bad...as long as she doesn't talk too much about my past.

Grovyle: *reading my notes* Don't count on that...


End file.
